


It's Just a Cup Of Coffee

by voxvirus



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27022150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voxvirus/pseuds/voxvirus
Summary: A human named Raz and a turian named Nilkus meet on the presidium in the most interesting of ways and become close friends. And then maybe something more?
Kudos: 1





	1. Abstract Art

**Author's Note:**

> (Fanfic title inspired by the song Cup of Coffee by Julian Moon and some names from the fantasynamesgenerator)
> 
> Special thanks to my friend and fellow mass effect fan who reviews my work and gives me feedback! I love and appreciate you!
> 
> Updates every other Sunday

CHAPTER 1 - Abstract Art

Nilkus groggily lumbered through the Presidium walkways, clutching tightly to a dextro nitro cold brew coffee. The brightness of the simulated Presidium sun cut into Nilkus' forehead, digging into his already growing migraine. Eyes squinted, Nilkus flipped through his meetings for the day on a datapad. His mandibles fluttered in frustration, while he groaned at his packed schedule. Today was going to be an interesting day for sure.

Eyes glued tightly to the datapad, he began mentally filtering through what information he'd need to collect in preparation.

 _Fuck_. He thought to himself as he stumbled upon one entry in his calendar. He'd forgotten all about the meeting with the elcor diplomats. He still needed to finish edits on the final draft of his proposal. Not only that, he would also need to be on his A game to nail that meeting. _Spirits, why did I have to pick last night to-_

THUD, SPLAT.

Thoughts halted to a stop, the cold liquid seeped into the sleeve of Nilkus' shirt. Glancing to his arm, he followed the streaks of liquid to his hand, and then to a newly large stain on a white piece of fabric. The blue and white coffee cup was crushed up against the arm of a human woman, her bright white dress, now a mess of brown drips and splatters.

"What the fuck-" the woman began, sharply turning her head, meeting Nilkus with a piercing blue gaze. Fierce at first glance, but surprisingly calm.

"I- I-" he was speechless, eyes fluttering in panic. She was obviously way off to the side of the walkway and well out of the way of any foot traffic. His tiredness had caused him to veer to the right, and smack into her side.

Sighing, the woman stood up straight and slightly smiled, "It's okay, it's just a cup of coffee. No sweat. Or worries I mean."

She brushed off some of the excess liquid from her sleeve and began to walk away. The brown curls of her hair bounced with each step.

"W-wait!" Nilkus stammered as words began gushing from his mouth, "I am so sorry! Spirits, I'm just exhausted and wasn't paying attention, I'll- I'll buy you a new dress! I am sincerely and terribly sorry."

"You really don't have to." She chuckled patiently. "It's not a big deal."

And with that she sauntered off. Nilkus didn't push the issue, but felt awful nonetheless. Her kind and calm response caught him off guard. He would have expected her to be more irritated, even if she didn't insist for any reimbursement. You didn't find many humans, or people in general around the Presidium like her.

"Day one was going to be bad, I just didn't expect that." he muttered to himself.

After making his way to the Turian embassy, Nilkus put down his datapad and the shambles of the coffee cup onto his desk. Burying his face in his hands, Nilkus audibly groaned.

_Get your head in the game Nilkus. Elcor meeting in 3 hours. Let's do this._

And with that, Nilkus trudged through the day, sifting through files, keeping his mandibles curled up, and trying his best to not sound exhausted when he spoke. Meeting after meeting, he pushed through as best he could, desperately swatting away any thoughts of the poor woman he had dumped his coffee all over.

Once the day was done, he dragged himself back down the Presidium walkways, so he could take the Rapid Transit home. As he walked, he kept an eye out for her, the woman with the piercing blue eyes.

 _There's got to be something I can do for her. I hope she at least could get the stain out. Spirits what if it was a special dress? What if she was on her way to an important meeting?_ Nilkus's thoughts raced vigorously while his body continued on its own. He didn't snap out of it until a salarian behind him tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, are you going to use the transit? If not, I would like to use it." the salarian groaned irritably.

Nilkus's eyes widened and he stared down at the panel in front of him. He was already at the transit? Shaking his head, he stepped to the side, "So sorry, please go ahead.

 _Spirits_. He thought to himself, _Why am I such a disaster?_

And with that, he waited for the salarian to finish with the panel and made his way home.

* * *

Waking up to the screaming of his alarm, Nilkus groaned and fumbled with his omnitool. After a bit of eye rubbing and cursing, he got the alarm to turn off. He absent mindedly reached into the drawer of his night stand and found it empty.

"Right, right we don't do that anymore." he told himself as he slowly stood up and dragged himself to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Once he reached the Presidium, he made his way to Coffee O-Clock, the coffee shop he stopped at every morning. As he waited his turn in line, a sweet aroma tickled his nostrils. The human in front of him was ordering a coffee with an intricate golden line pattern in the foam. And with that, Nilkus had an idea.

Once Nilkus reached the counter, he was greeted by its blonde and scruffy barista, "Hey Nilkus, cold brew as usual?"

"Hey Tony, and yes, but… what did that last customer order?" Nilkus asked.

"A caramel latte. We have a turian equivalent, wanna give it a go?" Tony asked.

"No, thank you for asking though. Is it popular among you humans?" Nilkus inquired.

"Relatively so, why do you ask?" Tony asked.

"Well, I owe someone a favor, could you make me the human version?" Nilkus asked, "And my cold brew as well?"

"Sure thing, coming right up." Tony smiled.

Now Nilkus had a mission. Sporting a tray with two drinks, he searched for that piercing blue gaze. She wouldn't accept a new dress, but maybe he could make it up to her with a coffee, an unspilled one she could safely digest.

However, even with slowly making his way to the office, he saw no sign of her.

After his unfruitful search, he finally arrived at the Turian Embassy. As he stepped in, his coworker cocked her head to side, fluttering her mandibles with interest and confusion.

"Morning Nilkus, rough night?" she asked inquisitively.

"Morning Vesta, and a little, do I look _that_ exhausted?" Nilkus asked defeatedly.

"Oh Spirits no, sorry I didn't mean to imply that. I just saw the two coffees and assumed." she giggled.

"Oh that!" Nilkus weakly chuckled, "No I spilled my coffee on someone yesterday and was going to offer her a coffee as an apology. And yes before you ask, I offered to replace the dress. She said no and walked away."

Vesta held her mandibles close to her face, trying to stifle her laughter. Glaring sternly at her, Nilkus cocked his head irritably.

"I won't laugh I promise, well, not loudly at least." Vesta teased.

Nilkus just groaned in response.

"Fine, fine I'll drop it. Now don't forget our meeting with the hanar later today. Boss said it is going to be important" Vesta told him.

"Of course, I won't." Nilkus responded. He sadly dropped the coffee in the trash and walked over to his desk. Slumping down into his chair, he began typing away on his console.

Vesta looked over, debating if she should press for more details even though she agreed not too. Eventually, she decided against it and got back to work.

* * *

Every morning for the next week, Nilkus followed the same routine. Two coffees and a slow stroll through the presidium walkways. Often he'd take extra routes, just hoping to catch the woman.

On Sunday morning, Nilkus defeatedly walked into the office, two coffees still in his tray. Vesta laughed aloud as Nilkus caught her gaze.

"Don't laugh at me." Nilkus said straightening up his back.

"This is like day 6 Nilkus. How much money are you going to blow on coffee for this random woman?" Vesta asked.

"Listen, I'm sure a week's worth of coffee pales in comparison to the cost of one of those fancy human dresses." Nilkus justified, "I'm still in the green right now."

"Yeah sure." Vesta laughed, "How do you even know she works in the Presidium?"

"I don't know... She wore one of those dresses all the human females in the embassies wear." Nilkus said, "So I just assumed."

"How do you know she wasn't just a passerby or a reporter only here for the day? Have you even checked to see if she works around here?" Vesta asked.

"Well I mean I don't know, and I haven't because walking around asking random offices if they've seen a blue eyed woman some turian dumped coffee on may come across as creepy." Nilkus defended.

"And buying her a coffee every morning isn't?" Vesta retorted.

"I- Well I- Fine. Fair point. Let me try again tomorrow morning, and if I don't bump into her, I'll stop." Nilkus said.

Vesta raised her mandibles in disbelief.

"I promise." Nilkus reassured.

"Good, now we have that meeting with the salarians to discuss the mineral scanner collaboration project, so make sure you have your head in the game." Vesta said.

"Of course." Nilkus nodded and defeatedly dropped the second coffee in the trash.

* * *

Waking up that morning, he didn't reach for the drawer. His coffee adventures had been a welcome distraction, but unfortunately it would all come to an end soon.

This was the last morning he would play this game of I spy with the blue eyed woman. Sighing heavily, he left the counter of the coffee shop and made his way towards the presidium walkways.

He had left a few minutes earlier that morning to try and cover more ground. In hindsight, this whole thing was rather creepy. Vesta's words made him question his actions, but he wanted to see it through to the end if he could. Hopefully the woman wouldn't be too disturbed by him and would accept his peace offering.

Nilkus had walked most of the walkways, but still no sight of her.

 _I'll check in front of the Relay Monument where I bumped into her, one last time and then be done with this nonsense. Move on and get on with my life_. Nilkus thought to himself.

As he turned around the corner he spotted someone.

A human woman with dark brown hair and mocha skin. The curls of her hair bounced in the slight breeze, as she peered out across the water. Her arms rested on the rails of the walkway, as one of her knees leaned against the glass, tugging up her pastel blue dress to expose a pair of shiny black heels.

Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in excitement, could it be her? Scurrying over, he gently tapped her shoulder with a talon, "Excuse me?"

The woman leaned up straight and turned around, slightly startled. Finally, he was met with that piercing blue gaze.

At first her eyes were widened, filled with shock and concern. However, after a moment, the stare soften and her lip curled up slightly. 

"Oh hey, you're that coffee guy. I see you have two drinks this morning, here to do twice the damage?" she teased.

"Oh no, I- well, again I am so sorry!" He stammered.

She laughed, "No worries, I'm just messing. What did you want?"

"Oh actually, I wanted to apologize again. I know you said you didn't want me to pay for a new dress, but- well- here." Nilkus said, pulling a cup out of the tray and offering it to her. "I don't know if you like coffee, but it's human made or safe I guess. I wanted to do something to try and make up for my carelessness."

"Oh wow, I-." The woman looked at the coffee, her mouth slightly agape and then gently grabbed the drink from his hand, "Thanks, that was really sweet."

"No problem. It's the least I could do." Nilkus explained, "I have to get running, but I'm glad I could catch you. Have a great day!"

And with that, he scurried off to the office triumphantly.

The woman stood there and watched him walk away, with a slight smile on her face. Looking down to the coffee in her hand, she took a small sip and sighed

 _Sometimes this galaxy really can surprise you._ She thought to herself, and headed off down the walkways.

* * *

Nilkus made it to the office, with only a minute to spare before the embassy opened. He walked in, head held high and proudly made his way to his desk.

"Wait… only one coffee... but you have a tray? Did- did you actually find her?" Vesta exclaimed.

Nilkus extended his mandibles and tilted his head up proudly, "I. Am. Victorious. And _you_ told me to give up."

"Listen, I just didn't want this going on for 3 months. That'd be a lot of wasted coffee." Vesta laughed, "But what did she say?"

"She said she thought it was sweet. I know it can't make up for the day she must have had with a coffee stained dress, but I hope it at least made _today_ a bit better for her." Nilkus explained.

"Awww what a sweetheart." Vesta teased, clicking her tongue, "Now why don't you continue that kindness streak and finish the fundraiser proposal. We need that by the end of the day today."

"Yeah yeah." Nilkus laughed and got to work.

* * *

The next morning, Nilkus went to the coffee shop and stepped up to the counter.

"Morning Tony, one dextro nitro cold brew please." Nilkus asked.

"No caramel latte?" Tony chuckled as he turned around to grab a cup.

"Nah don't need it anymore." Nilkus laughed, "Finally was able to return that favor. It's a bit of a story."

"Sounds like it. Well let me know if you ever need another latte, or more recommendations on human coffee drinks." Tony chuckled.

"Thanks." Nilkus smiled as he headed out.

* * *

The week went on rather slowly. Without the excitement of his coffee hunt, life returned to its stressful, exhausting routine. Getting up in the morning fell back into a lethargic bitter rhythm, with thoughts of the drawer and arguments with himself, about how he just needed his mental strength and a little caffeine to get through the day.

Monday was no different. He worked through his morning struggles, and once again made his way to the Coffee O-Clock.

"Hey Tony, one dextro nitro cold brew." Nilkus asked politely.

"Nilkus, glad I caught you!" Tony exclaimed happily.

"Happy that you're glad, but what's up?" Nilkus asked.

"Well, I think I heard the counterpart to the caramel latte saga." Tony laughed, "Guessing it involved a white dress and some abstract art you tried to make."

Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in embarrassment, "Spirits, yes… But how do you know? Was she here?"

"Yep, and she said your coffee's paid for. Oh and to meet her if you could where you did last time, wherever that is." Tony explained.

"Wow, wait- really?" Nilkus asked unbelievingly.

"Yeah was a pretty lady if I do say so myself. Lucky you she's buying your coffee after you spilled one on her. Not the typical romantic endeavors of humans, but maybe it is in turian standards, so I don't know." Tony chuckled.

"W-what well no I wasn't trying to flirt with her or anything! It was just an accident!" Nilkus tried to explain.

"Yeah yeah whatever you say lover boy, now I got a line _brewing_ , so get going." Tony said as he handed Nilkus his drink and waved him off.

"Ha ha, thanks Tony." Nilkus said, sarcastically laughing at Tony's awful pun.

Walking towards the same spot where they had met before, Nilkus looked around for her. And there she stood, gazing off into the landscape. Leaning on the railing, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

"Hey." Nilkus stated shyly.

"Hey there coffee boy, I see you got my message and my present." The woman smiled.

"Yeah, you know your coffee was an apology right? I mean _I_ owed _you_." Nilkus chuckled quietly.

"Listen it was a good way to lure you out." the woman explained, "I had to meet the guy who first spills his coffee on me, and then goes and buys me a coffee, even though he's never seen me drink one."

"You know in hindsight, it _was_ a weird apology gift..." Nilkus laughed nervously. "But then why did you buy me one? I spilled my own coffee. That wasn't your fault."

"That's becausel I found out the coffee you gave me was the 7th one you bought. I wanted to balance the score a little bit." The woman smiled.

"Tony told you, huh?" Nilkus asked.

"Yeah, my curiosity got the best of me, so I went early this morning to try and see if I could find out who you were. As soon as I explained what happened, the barista burst out into laughter. He told me how everything added up now with his regular customer Nilkus and his odd coffee purchases. He also told me you usually stop by later in the morning, so I gave him money for your typical order and asked him to give you a message." The woman explained, "Seems like a nice guy."

"He really is." Nilkus said. "So, if you know my name, do I get to know yours?"

"Raziyah." she smiled, "But you can call me Raz."

"Well nice to meet you Raz and thanks for the coffee. And seriously you don't have to get me anymore. That was my poorly planned scheme to try and make it up to you." Nilkus smiled, "So... do you work here on the presidium?"

"Yeah, I work part time in the human embassies as an IT Specialist, double checking update work done by the embassy AI, as well as a few other places around the citadel during the rest of the week. It's pretty simple and doesn't require too much technical skill." Raz explained, "Haven't been here too long either, but I'm getting used to the lay of the land."

"Well if you ever need help, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. I've been working here a few years now, so I mostly know my way around." Nilkus explained, "Ask me about csec or the lower markets however and you're out of luck."

Raz chuckled, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. What do you do?"

"I work at the turian embassy, as your average diplomat trying to maintain relations between us and other species. Didn't realize with this job, I would also be a part time bomb defuser. That was fun to learn the hard way." Nilkus joked.

"Oh I can imagine." Raz laughed.

Nilkus looked at his omni-tool to check the time, "Hey, I need to get running, but I'd love to chat again if you'd like."

"Yeah sure thing, I'm only at the Presidium on Mondays, but feel free to meet me here if you want. I'm usually here for a bit before work if you want to say hi." Raz explained.

"Sounds great. I'll try to catch you next monday then!" Nilkus smiled as ran off towards the Turian embassy.


	2. Mondays and Patience

CHAPTER 2 - Mondays and Patience

The next morning, Nilkus snoozed his alarm and stayed tucked up in the sheets. It was good to finally have a day off. He rarely got to sleep in, so he wouldn't miss this opportunity.

A couple hours passed when he finally decided to crawl out of bed and make himself some food and a coffee. Curling up on the couch and munching away on his breakfast, Nilkus pulled out his datapad and tapped on the reader application.

"Maybe I can finally finish Kingdom of the Unknown today." he told himself. Fishing through the app's library, he found the book and began reading.

While occasionally sipping his coffee, Nilkus read a daring tale about the explorer Menea, a valorant turian who explored unknown worlds. Currently in the book, she had made contact with a new alien race, run by a tyrannical monarch. She and her crew were secretly riling up the people to start a revolution.

Nilkus smiled as he finished a few more chapters and gently placed the datapad down on the coffee table, next to his empty plate and cup.

Stretching out his arms, he stood up slowly and made his way to the kitchen to put his dishes in the dishwasher. Once they were securely placed on the rack, Nilkus hear a quiet ping from his omni-tool.

A message popped up, sent from one of his coworkers, Evander.

 _Hey Nilkus, Evander here. I know it's your day off, but would you be able to come in for a few hours? I need help with the proposal for the STEM fundraiser for Palaven Pals._ The message read.

"Fuck…" Nilkus groaned to himself.

 _Yeah sure. Be there in 30 minutes._ Nilkus replied.

 _You're a lifesaver! Thanks! I owe you one._ Evander responded.

"First day off in two weeks. But are we surprised?" Nilkus groaned to himself.

After quickly changing into a tan suit, littered with white embroidery, Nilkus headed off to the Turian embassy.

* * *

Arriving at the office, Nilkus was greeted with a hug, "It's my hero!"

Nilkus groaned, "You know most turians would punch you for hugging them, Evander."

Evander laughed, "Yeah but you're not most turians Nilkus."

Shaking his head Nilkus sat down at the table Evander was working at. "Well let's get to it before I change my mind."

The pair worked relentlessly for hours, barely even making a dent into the work for the proposal.

Evander groaned irritably, "I have been working on this for two weeks and I'm _still_ finding shit I need to do."

Nilkus flared his mandibles out, coming to a realization, "Explains why I haven't really seen much of you lately. This is way bigger than I would have anticipated as well. But hey, once you're finished, I'm sure it will be something to gloat about."

" _If_ it gets finished." Evander moaned as he buried his face in the table. "I need a hit if I'm going to get through this. I have some mental stims if you want one. Or are you still on your free streak?"

Nilkus shook his head. "No thanks, I've been off it for about a week now. Hoping to keep at it."

"I commend you. It's almost impossible to get through this job without it. I've tried to stay under the legal limit, but it's hard. I can't believe you're just cutting yourself off period."

Nilkus shrugged, "I feel like I won't be able to limit myself if I don't. I was using three times the legal amount before last week. Cutting back to the legal dose would be just as bad as going off of it completely. I won't lie though the mornings have been _awful_."

"Keep at it. If you can do it, maybe I'll give it a shot too." Evander pulled out a pill bottle and swallowed a few of the pills.

Staring longingly at the bottle, Nilkus could feel the fog of his mind thicken. The aches of his body grew heavier as he watched Evander swallow.

 _Just one more time? Just this proposal?_ Nilkus thought to himself, but then quickly shook the thought. He had to stick to his guns. He couldn't slip up.

"Alright let's do this." Evander said, flaring his mandibles confidently, and with that, the two toiled late into the night.

* * *

Wednesday morning was brutal. After working late with Evander, and not getting his full day to recharge, Nilkus could barely make his way to work.

Trudging towards the Coffee O-Clock, Nilkus was nose deep in his datapad. He could barely keep track of his meetings, but continued to review the list as he waited in line for his coffee.

While trying to focus on his list, he unintentionally caught wind of conversation in front of him.

"So why do you have an actual person serving the coffee instead of a machine?" a soothing voice inquired.

"Its a PR thing." A gravelly voice responded. Nilkus recognized it as Tony's.

"Coffee O-Clock and the Presidium sociology board say it's better for more face to face interaction, since the work here is so high stress." Tony went on to explain. " _I_ say stop working the poor bastards so hard would be the better solution. But hey, then I wouldn't have a job. So I guess I can't complain too much. Anyways, here's your caramel latte."

 _Wow guess that thing really_ _ **is**_ _popular._ Nilkus chuckled to himself.

"Thanks," the calmer voice responded. "Wait- Nilkus?"

Nilkus' head shot out of his datapad at the call of his name. His eyes synced up with her ocean blue stare, "Raz! I didn't even realize it was you. You can tell why I'm in this line."

Raz laughed in response, "Oh for sure. Don't pass out on your way to work."

Raz was about to step away, and then stopped in her track, "Here, you know what. Tony, whatever he gets is on me."

Tony nodded as he grabbed a cup, "Cold brew as usual?"

"S-sure." Nilkus responded and then turned to face Raz, "You really don't need to do this."

"Last coffee I pay for and then we call it square, fair deal?" Raz said, stretching out her hand.

Nilkus grabbed her hand and shook it, "Deal."

The skin of her palm was incredibly smooth, much smoother than Turian skin. Nilkus was surprised at how it felt and slowly pulled his hand away once they had finished the shake.

Tony handed Nilkus the cold brew and the pair made their way towards the walkways.

"So I thought you said you were only here Mondays." Nilkus said.

"Well the Human Embassy was seeing some issue with the last update in their software. They called me in to do some triage and figure out what's going on." Raz explained, "So lucky for you, you got a free coffee and to be graced by my presence."

Nilkus laughed, "Seems like it."

The pair stopped in front of the Relay Monument and leaned against the railing.

"So do you always stop at this spot?" Nilkus asked.

"Usually. The Relay Monument is the realest thing about this place." Raz explained.

"What do you mean?" Nilkus asked.

"Well if you look at everything else here, what do you see?" Raz asked

"Ummm… white? And cleanliness?" Nilkus responded hesitantly.

"Exactly." Raz said, turning around and leaning her back against the railing. "Super pristine and perfect. But the galaxy isn't like that right? It's messy, unkept and unknown. So I guess I feel comfortable staring at something a little less perfectly kept and obnoxiously shiny. Helps keep you grounded, you know?"

Nilkus looked at the monument and then back to Raz, unsure what to say.

"Wow, I just realized that was probably a bit too profound for a Wednesday morning before work, huh?" Raz said, a bit embarrassed.

Nilkus just laughed in response, "Honestly, it was kind of refreshing to get a new perspective… and you're right. So, thanks. Was kind of cool to hear. Gives you something to think about. Especially as someone who has gotten used to stupidly bright and pristine surroundings."

Raz smiled, "Glad to hear you're not too far gone into the bureaucracy."

The two sat there for a few minutes, just chatting about what their jobs were like and how Nilkus had gotten Raz hooked on caramel lattes. Eventually Nilkus checked the time and realized all their chatter had made him late for work.

"Terribly sorry, I need to go, but I'll see you Monday!" he scurried down the walkway, waving as he left.

Raz smiled and waved back, "Sounds great."

Raz turned and headed to the Human Embassy. It was probably for her to get to work on their update issues.

Walking into the office, a man perked up and smiled, "Hey there Raz, good to see you."

Pointing and clicking his tongue, he continued, "Badass heroines saving the day are quite the delicacy. We should get drinks after work to celebrate you fixing the computers."

Raz rolled her eyes, "A. I haven't even fixed them yet and B, no, and C awful pick up line Gideon. That doesn't even make sense."

Gideon acted shocked, "I'm not hitting on you, I was just showing you my appreciation of course! I would never hurt the sanctity of an office ecosystem, by trying to date a coworker."

"Yeah sure whatever." Raz groaned as she headed to one of the computers with the update issue.

The most recent operating system release contained a huge user interface bug, where if you clicked the start menu too quickly after start up, the entire screen would freeze. Manufacturers recommended reverting all the computers to a previous update until they can push a fix. Since this was an abnormal occurrence, the AI was not set up to fix this issue, so the office had to call Raz in.

Raz typed away quickly on the computer, setting it up to restart and revert back to the older version of the OS. While the computer was shutting down for the restart, she pulled up her omnitool and started tapping away. A light flashed in her omnitool screen and wrote "DUPLICATES COMPLETE" after a few minutes.

The computer finally started back up and had completed the revert, so she moved on to the next computer and continued on for the rest of the morning.

* * *

Monday had rolled around again and Nilkus set his alarm early. He was excited to spend more time with Raz and learn more about her.

He quickly got ready, putting on his favorite red suit and nearly running out the door.

He arrived at the presidium nearly 30 minutes before he normally did. He said his hello to Tony, grabbed his coffee and headed to the Relay Monument. Turning around the corner, there was no sight of Raz yet.

 _Maybe I got a little too excited…_ Nilkus thought to himself.

Walking over to the railing, he leaned gently against it and slowly sipped his drink. His eyes scanned the water and the monument. The monument was covered in thick layers of dust and grime. It really was odd the keepers never took the time to clean it, but that was one of the many mysteries of the keepers.

While losing himself in thought, he didn't hear Raz's footsteps. "Hey there daydreamer."

"Spirits!" Nilkus exclaimed, dropping his coffee over the edge of the railing into the water.

Raz burst out into a raucous laughter. "Are you always deep in thought whenever you have a coffee in your hand?"

"Apparently." Nilkus groaned frustratingly, watching his coffee float away in the water, "You owe me a coffee now."

Nilkus turned around and leaned against the railing, noticing Raz already had two cups of coffee.

"Wow that was fast." Nilkus joked

"Yeah, I thought it would be funny to get you the turian caramel latte, but I only grabbed a small since I knew you'd already have a coffee." Raz explained, "But..."

Raz gestured over to the coffee in the water, "Looks like you were going to need it anyways."

Nilkus chuckled and grabbed the coffee from her hand, "Thanks… well unless…"

"Unless what?" Raz laughed.

"This was part of your master plan." Nilkus explained, tapping his chin in thought. He then gestured his hands outwards in revelation, "I can see it now, scaring me was part of your plan all along!"

"Oh really…?" Raz said in disbelief.

"Yes, the pieces fit perfectly together. Revenge for me getting you hooked on caramel lattes…" Nilkus explained theatrically, "Eliminate my poor defenseless nitro cold brew and introduce your small caramel latte. Then, of course I'd have to get more since small isn't _nearly_ enough caffeine. But then when I get my regular nitro cold brew, it just won't be the same, since the aftertaste of caramel will still linger in my mouth. I see what you're up to. You can't fool me."

And with that he took a sip. "And fuck now I want in. This really is good."

Raz was laughing so hard she nearly spilled her own drink. Clenching tightly to her stomach, she couldn't stop herself.

"Oh sorry that may be a bit profound for a Monday morning." Nilkus teased.

Raz rolled her eyes and leaned against the railing, slowly calming her laughter, "Your charisma is something else. No wonder you're a diplomat. You must persuade everyone to do your bidding or whatever it is the Turian Embassy is up to."

"Nothing crazy, just domination over the Galaxy, and now a proclamation to make caramel lattes free in unlimited supply." Nilkus smirked after taking another sip of his drink. "The worst thing is I don't even drink hot coffee often. The cold typically helps keep me up."

"Oh right since turians get cold super easily." Raz remarked

"Exactly, the cold brew gives me a little chill, so between that and the caffeine I don't doze off at my desk." Nilkus explained.

"Are you ever not working?" Raz asked, "I know you mentioned before you work a ton."

"I sometimes get a day off every two weeks." Nilkus laughed, "And you know I sometimes don't have to come in on that day off."

"Wow what a life." Raz said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm sure between all your contracted work, you must pull a lot of hours." Nilkus said, "You said you work all over the citadel right?"

"Yeah, they keep me busy but I at least have a couple days off every week." Raz explained

"Wow, what luxury." Nilkus responded sarcastically.

"You know it." Raz said, giving Nilkus a slight wink.

And with that, they continued their chatter about work and what life was like on the presidium until Nilkus noticed he would be late for work again. He waved farewell and scurried off.

* * *

The next few weeks continued like this. The pair would meet early before work and chat about various things.

Nilkus would often talk about the books he was reading, or about the antics of his coworkers. His tales always brought a smile to Raz's face, however, she was never as elaborate with her stories. She would often speak of current events or her office life, but never offered many details about her personal life.

Nilkus realized how shy she came off one Monday, when he asked about her schooling.

"So did you always want to get into IT? Where did you go to school?" Nilkus asked politely.

"Nah it ummm kind of just fell in my lap. But that can be life for you." she said awkwardly. Then, she quickly responded with a question, in attempt to divert the conversation, "What about you, did you always want to get into politics?"

Nilkus felt a tinge of pain from her diversion, but he brushed it off. "Yeah, I realized at a young age combat wasn't for me. Everyone on Palaven gets some sort of combat training, so I can hold my own, but only decently at best. Not only that, but I'm not a huge fan of blood and conflict."

"Not a fan of conflict huh, when you can handle a heated debate on policy that could affect countless lives?" Raz laughed.

"Yes, because I know that the person across the table won't pull out a gun and then BAM, lights out." Nilkus explained, waving his hands around to mimic the explosion.

"I've heard a lot of fighters actually prefer combat to verbal fights." Raz told him.

Nilkus flared his mandibles in recognition, "I've heard that too. A lot easier to shoot someone dead and forget them, than to work through the issues and try to maintain a tough and tense relationship. Although I disagree, I can understand the sentiment at least."

"Exactly, maintenance can be grueling." Raz explained

"But… Don't you do maintenance?" Nilkus teased.

"Oh shush." Raz chuckled, "Besides maintenance on a logical, very predictable computer is a lot easier to maintain than a complex emotional being. You can either have 'oh no file corrupted, please restore backup' or 'why don't you want to meet my parents, are you not serious about us?'. I'll take update issues _any_ day of the week."

Nilkus laughed, "Oof. You talking from personal experience."

"Eh maybe. How about you, got any crazy stories about past relationships? Any expertly manueverd compromises you managed to pull out of your ass, or well if you have one of those."

Deflected again. Nilkus dropped his mandibles into a frown, but picked them back up to answer her question.

"Yes, we too defecate like most species," Nilkus explained, "And yeah a few. Last one was probably the craziest. I was dating an asari named Penesta and she _really_ wanted kids. Like she would talk about it _constantly_ and I'm only 33, and Asari live a long time. I didn't know if I was ready for that commitment. I liked Penesta, but obviously things weren't going to work out because of this. So, I came up with the perfect solution."

"Oh god. I'm scared but keep going." Raz laughed

"Well, my coworker Vesta _really_ like Penesta. One night after several glasses of turian brandy, Vesta admitted that she was jealous, because Penesta seemed amazing. Vesta admired her love for children, her taste in arts and couldn't get over the fact their names even rhymed. So, one night I sat Penesta down and I told her I cared about her, but I didn't think things were going to work out. Obviously, she was upset, but then I pitched the idea of going on a date with Vesta to her. Next thing you know, Vesta comes dancing into the office one morning and sings praises of me for hooking her up with the love of her life. They're still together, even now, and with a little baby on the way."

Raz dropped her jaw, "How the fuck did you pull that off? And are you still friends with Penesta?"

Nilkus proudly perked up his mandibles, "You know it. I was even the officiant at their wedding. So see, sometimes working through the awkwardness, instead of just blasting at it, works out in the end."

"You're unbelievable. The same guy who straight up walked into me with a full glass of coffee orchestrated the craziest matchmaker scenario of all time?" Raz said unbelievably.

"I have pictures from the wedding." he laughed, scrolling through his datapad and pulling up some photos from the wedding.

The pair looked through some of the photo album, and then Raz turned back to him.

"So what you're telling me here is that maybe the coffee was a whole part of your master plan? But what's the goal here I wonder. I'll figure it out coffee boy. Just wait and see." she teased, gently punching his arm. "You clean up nice though. Who knew you could actually look good like that?"

"Hey!" he responded, faking offense. "I'll let you know I am quite an attractive suitor."

"Not when you say it like that. Do you have a partner waiting for you at home?" Raz asked.

"Well no, but work's been busy so I haven't really gotten out there." Nilkus defended.

"That's what they all say." Raz continued teasing.

"Well what about you?" Nilkus asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Raz laughed, sticking her tongue out, "Anyways, don't you need to go?"

Nilkus looked at the clock. "Spirits, good catch, I'll see you next week!"

With that he hurried down the paths as Raz waved him off.

This was not the only conversation that followed this formula. Raz was quite protective of her personal details.

At times, Nilkus felt a bit discouraged, but their friendship was new. He didn't want to press for more until she was ready. Turians were often closed off from their feelings, so he was used to more surface leveled conversations and friendships.

Although, Raz truly peaked his interest. Curiosity never usually stole his heart, but with Raz he couldn't help but wonder. How did she see the world? Why is she the person she is today? Maybe one day he'd be lucky enough to know.

 _Patience…_ One morning Nilkus thought to himself as he laid in bed. It was another morning, another monday.

 _Spirits, but patience is hard._ Nilkus chuckled quietly at the thought.

Then softly, he spoke out loud, "But it can be worth it."

And with that, he leapt excitedly out of bed and quickly walked to his shower. Drawer untouched, far away from his thoughts.

Maybe patience really was worth it.


	3. Cinnamon and Caramel

CHAPTER 3 - Cinnamon and Caramel

It was another Monday, when Vesta and Evander were intently reviewing a document on Vesta's console. The pair quietly bickered about the feedback on their proposal, when something tickled their noses.

A sweet smell drifted into the office as Nilkus chipperly strode in. Mandibles curled up, Nilkus energetically took his seat. Leaning back in his chair, he took a long sip from the caramel latte clutched in his left hand.

Vesta burst into laughter as Nilkus began quickly tapping away at his console.

"What are you laughing at?" Nilkus asked.

Vesta smiled, "You, you dork."

"I'm a dork? Wait, why?" Nilkus asked.

"That flaunting strut. I can always tell it's Monday when you do that." Vesta laughed.

"Yeah…" Evander agreed, "That _was_ a bit out of character for you. No groggy trudge to your desk. What gives?"

"It's his little coffee pal." Vesta teased

"What kind of coffee are _you_ drinking?" Evander questioned, "Whatever it is, I want one."

"No, like a person." Vesta groaned, burying her face in her hand.

"What?! I didn't know you were seeing someone!" Evander exclaimed excitedly, "Who are they? How did you meet? Have you, you know? I want all the details, every juicy one!"

Nilkus groaned, flaring out his mandibles irritably, "No details. We are _just_ friends who talk over coffee."

"Oooo a slow burn romance… I like it. How long have you two been meeting for coffee? Do you two talk often? Let me see some pictures, or some cutesy coffee related texts." Evander pressed.

"It's- Spirits… We're not a thing or trying to be a thing, we're just _friends_." Nilkus fought.

"No turian walks like that after talking to just their _friend_." Vesta said.

"Exactly, when I first met Velcus, I was strutting around the citadel like an idiot. That head raised, long stride, shoulders back walk is a dead give away." Evander explained.

"You may not be dating _now_ , but I'm sure you will be soon from the way you talk about her." Vesta giggled.

"So who is she?" Evander asked, "As I said, cough up those pics Nilkus."

"You two are _relentless_." Nilkus groaned, "And sad news for you, I _don't_ have any pictures of her. As with all my friends, I don't just have random glam shots of them on my omni-tool."

"What's her social media page then? I'll look her up." Evander said.

"I don't know it!" Nilkus exclaimed.

"You're so boring… Fine, what's her last name? I'll try to snoop for her pages." Evander said.

"I- ummm.. I don't know her last name." Nilkus admitted hesitantly.

"She didn't give it to you when you got her contact info?" Evander asked

"Well no, because I don't have that either…" Nilkus continued.

"What?!" Vesta exclaimed, "You've been meeting up with her for almost 3 months now!"

"Has it really been that long?" Nilkus asked unbelievingly, "Wait- Have you been keeping track?"

"No, it's just that Triesta was born about a month ago, and I remember telling Penesta about your coffee story on the way to our birthing training, which you typically scheduled two months before the due date. So you do the math." Vesta explained.

Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in shock. It didn't feel like 3 months at all, he was almost skeptical.

"Spirits, if that's the case, how do you _not_ have her contact information?" Evander exclaimed.

"I don't know... It just... never came up? We just get so caught up in conversation I don't think to ask. I mean, she hasn't asked either so it's not just me." Nilkus explained.

"How do you go on dates and stuff then?" Evander asked, "How do you even know her?"

Nilkus sighed and explained the whole saga to Evander. In very broad details, Nilkus explained how they met, and how they meet every monday to chat until they have to run off to work.

Evander flared out his mandibles in disbelief, "And this has been going on for three months?"

Nilkus hung his head, and tucked in his mandibles, a little embarrassed.

Clutching tightly onto his forehead, Evander groaned, "We'll fix this."

Vesta perked up with a fresh idea in mind, "Just ask her out to dinner or shopping and get her contact information that way!"

Nilkus thought to himself for a moment, "There is that new cafe that opened up in the wards. Apparently their coffee is really good. I could offer to take her there."

"Now you're thinking!" Evander cheered.

A head popped into their office and spoke sharply, "Are you three slacking off?"

"Oh sorry Dectis! We're right back to it!" Evander exclaimed nervously.

Dectis flared out his mandibles angrily and walked away.

"My love life is not worth losing my job over." Nilkus said, turning back to his computer.

"Love life huh?" Vesta fluttered her mandibles teasingly.

"You know what I meant." Nilkus groaned.

"Fine fine, we'll lay off." Vesta laughed, "Dectis is a strict enough boss as is, let alone if we told him 'Yes sir, we're using work hours to coach Nilkus into a successful flirt."

Evander laughed and then turned to Vesta, "We should really get back to that proposal."

Vesta nodded and the three continued to work hard for the rest of the day, in hopes to stay in Dectis' good graces.

* * *

Monday rolled around again, and Nilkus clutched his drink tightly as he walked to their typical meeting spot. Chest pounding, he grew more nervous with each step.

 _She won't hate you for offering to go out. Relax Nilkus, play it cool._ Nilkus thought as he breathed heavily, walking around the corner of the walkway.

And there she was, looking out as always, across the water and up to the relay monument. Stopping for a moment, Nilkus took one last deep breath and walked up next to her.

Mustering all the courage he could, he chirped out, "Morning Raz!"

"Morning coffee boy," Raz smirked, "How's your morning treating you."

 _Keep up the normal banter, nothing is weird, nothing is different._ Nilkus thought frantically.

"Just uhhh wondering when I'll upgrade from coffee boy to coffee man, or at least rambunctious coffee teen delinquent." Nilkus chuckled, curling up his mandibles, feigning confidence.

"Oooo good question." Raz laughed, "I don't know, your interests seem way too relaxed and boring to be a rambunctious coffee teen delinquent. Let's say you're at least a coffee book club freshman. The kind of dork who still has physical copies of books at home."

"Listen, I only have a few dozen books alright? Just a few special titles that are worth some money." Nilkus laughed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Raz chuckled, "I'm sure they're quite the sight. I haven't seen an actual book in years. I think maybe once as a kid. Are turian books similar to human ones?"

"The written words are _obviously_ different, but the materials are slightly different as well" Nilkus explained, "Ours are not tree based like yours, however they still are plant based. We make a material similar to your paper from a very fast growing weed. Thousands of years back, we had excess supply of it and didn't know what to do. So, some turian came up with the brilliant idea to scribble on them. However now a days, the weed is just mostly used as a fuel source in certain agricultural circles, since we don't print much anymore"

"Of course you were able to just pull that tidbit out of your ass." Raz chuckled.

"Books are my biggest hobby." Nilkus defended.

"Yeah, seems to be your _only_ hobby." Raz teased.

"I would also consider myself a coffee connoisseur these days." Nilkus proclaimed pompously.

Raz just rolled her eyes.

 _That's it!_ Nilkus thought to himself.

"Speaking of books and coffee… If you're really interested in seeing the books, would you ever like to come over and check them out sometime? Could also be a good excuse to try out this cafe that just opened up too. I could pick up some drinks, and you could meet me at my place. Maybe watch a movie or something afterwards if you felt up to it. No pressure or anything, if you wouldn't be interested in that sort of thing of course!" Nilkus nervously rambled.

Raz smiled sweetly, "Yeah that could be fun! I'm free tomorrow night, if you'd like to meet up then."

Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in excitement, "Yeah sure! Sounds great. I'll make sure to leave the office at a vaguely reasonable hour. Could I um, steal your contact info to work out the details later?"

"I mean you don't need to _steal_ it, you can just have it." Raz laughed, pulling up her omni-tool and sending him a copy of her info.

Nilkus chuckled embarrassedly, "Yes right, thievery is no fun huh?"

"That's what they say at least." Raz laughed, "So anyhoo, tell me about this cafe."

The pair chatted about the cafe and their plans and then parted ways a while later. With a quick stride, Nilkus skipped into the office and chipperly greeted Vesta, "Good morning!"

Vesta smiled, "I take your obnoxiously happy greetings as a good sign? What did she say?"

"We are hanging out tomorrow!" Nilkus smiled.

"You have a date?!" Vesta exclaimed gleefully.

"Hang out, Vesta, hang out. We are just friends." Nilkus argued

"Spirits, you are like a broken VI stuck in a command loop. I'll leave you to your delusions." Vesta told him, and the pair busied themselves with their work.

* * *

Scurrying around his apartment, Nilkus checked for anything he could have missed. A neglected coffee mug or a book jutting too far out of the shelf, nothing could be out of place. Everything needed to be perfect when she arrived.

 _Shit, did I leave the warmer on?_ Nilkus thought to himself as he hurried back into the kitchen. The two lattes in their tray were still warm to the touch, and the glaze on the cinnamon buns still glistened.

"Good." Nilkus sighed to himself as he returned to the living room to fluff the pillows for the 4th time.

Suddenly, a ping was sent to Nilkus' omni-tool. A message appeared on the screen reading. _APARTMENT NOTIFICATION: Visitor arrived on doorstep, please see image linked._

Nilkus clicked the link to bring up a picture of Raz's smiling face, waving at the camera.

Stretching out his shoulders, Nilkus let out a calming breath, as he walked to the door. With his omni-tool he unlocked and opened it to greet Raz.

"Hey there! Welcome, thanks for coming." Nilkus smiled, trying his best to control his nerves.

"Well thanks for having me!" Raz smiled as she stepped in, "Ahhhh nice place you got here, livin' it up as a diplomat?"

"Yeah the craziness does come with some nice perks. Hence how I can afford all the books." Nilkus admitted. "Feel free to take a seat."

Sitting down slowly, Raz drank in the softness of the couch. "If I pass out, don't judge me. This couch is fantastic."

"Thanks." Nilkus laughed, "I've fallen asleep on this ole thing a few times. Does the job well."

"Ugh I can tell." Raz groaned as she sank further into the cushion, "At this rate, I don't think I'll be able to leave."

 _That'd be nice._ Nilkus thought to himself at first, and then realized the creepiness that came from it.

 _Gross Nilkus, you two are friends. Stop being weird._ Nilkus argued with himself.

"Well, if you're trapped in the couch, I can bring the coffee and treats to you." Nilkus laughed as he walked over to the kitchen.

"Wait… did you say treats? I thought you were just getting coffee!" Raz shouted excitedly

"What fancy coffee is complete without a matching pastry?" Nilkus said as he returned with a tray and two bags.

"That smells fantastic." Raz said, nearly drooling.

After placing the tray and bags gently on the charcoal coffee table, Nilkus pulled out one of the coffees and handed it to Raz.

"And in here, we have cinnamon buns. I hope you like those. My contact said humans typically like that sort of thing." Nilkus continued

"Do you just go to Tony with all your questions about humans?" Raz said gently nudging his side.

"No!" Nilkus responded, feigning offense, "I sometimes ask the internet too."

Raz chuckled and shook her head slightly, "You're something else. Now, after our treats do I get to see these fancy books. I promise I'll wash my hands first."

"Sounds like a plan." Nilkus responded, happily fluttering his mandibles.

Grabbing one of the bags, Nilkus handed her the one labeled levo. Happily taking it from him, Raz pulled out a cinnamon bun and breathed in its scent before taking her first bite. "God this is fantastic. You kept it warm too?"

"Yeah." Nilkus laughed a little self consciously, "I can be a little _too_ detailed oriented."

"Hey, works for me. I mean I got warm cinnamon buns out of it." Raz laughed, "Man I can't even remember the last time I had sweets."

"Why not? Trying to stay healthy or whatever?" Nilkus laughed

"Nah, I just eat practical. Well, I do _everything_ a little too practical." Raz admitted.

"Why's that?" Nilkus asked

Looking awkwardly to the floor, Raz was hesitant to respond. "I um… well…"

Nilkus gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

Jolting slightly as the touch, Raz quickly darted her stare to Nilkus. Her fierce stare scared off his hand.

Tucking in his mandibles ashamedly, Nilkus thought to himself, _Fuck... We're supposed to be having fun and here I am trying to be her therapist. There's probably a reason she's guarded and my curiosity shouldn't force her to talk about this kind of stuff. Shit… why do I act like this?_

"Sorry... I shouldn't pry." Nilkus finally said, after a few moments of silence, "I just wanted to offer the floor, in case you wanted to talk about it."

"Offer the floor, huh?" Raz half heartedly smiled, trying to combat the awkwardness, "Even in times like this the diplomatic lingo slips in."

Nilkus quietly chuckled in response, "Yeah, it ruins everything, especially bedroom talk. Must be why I'm still single."

Raz bursted out into genuine laughter, Nilkus happily joining her.

"God, you _are_ something else." Raz smiled.

"I'll imagine that's a compliment." Nilkus said, happily curling up his mandibles.

"Yeah it is… and…" Raz began slowly, "Sorry I'm so awkward. A lot of my life is weird so it's hard to talk about… It's part of the reason I'm so practical and at times a bit cold and distant."

Diverting away her stare again, Raz's voice softened, "I'm sure it's frustrating… And I'm sorry… You've been awesome. You always have these great stories about your personal life. You're always so willing to talk and share, and I really appreciate that about you."

Turning back, she looked at him with a soft smile, "I am stupid grateful I met you. Please take none of my dodginess as anything personal. This is just how the cards in my life have fallen. I'd change it if I could, but I can't… I hope you understand."

Nilkus tilted his head and gently flared out his mandibles, "I do. And I won't lie… It has been frustrating at times, but even still I… really enjoy your company. So even if you can't share a lot of things about yourself… Is it okay if I still stick around? I enjoy our obnoxious banter. Would be weird without it."

Nodding slowly, Raz tried to suppress the redness flooding to her cheeks, "Yeah… I'd like that."

With a gentle tap on her back Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in excitement, "Well, in that case, let's finish the food so we can go check out those books. That way you can get to teasing me about my awful taste in literature. I'm sure it'll help brighten the mood."

The pair laughed heartily as they went back to eating.

They chatted for a bit about literature, while finishing off the cinnamon buns. And after a quick hand wash in the sink, they made their way to Nilkus' book collection. Raz asked a few questions, and recalled all she could about human books. Nilkus told her about some of his favorite books and what stories he loved growing up. The two shared some laughs and eventually made their way back to the couch.

"So this Menea lady started a revolution in the book you just finished?" Raz asked.

"Yes, although I only have the digital copy of that one." Nilkus explained, "She's had all sorts of crazy adventures, going all over the galaxy and righting the wrongs of it. Although it's a lot of fun and laughs, it definitely pushes a bit of the turian agenda. Blind loyalty and strict moral code."

"Makes sense." Raz chuckled, "I feel like a lot of media is like that for children. Helps build into their characters. A lot of human movies will disguise racism by using animals or fantastical creatures and setting them up as a marginalized minority. It helps kids learn about prejudices and grow from them, without just berating them with the cruelty of reality."

"Honestly, that's kind of smart. Back on Palaven, we're a bit harsher on our children." Nilkus explained, "We give them a crash course in reality at a rather young age. Maybe we could learn a bit from humans, maybe let kids be joyous for at least a little bit."

"Yeah I can imagine how that's hard on kids. Although too much fun can make kids spoiled and naive, so it's definitely a balancing act." Raz responded.

"For sure." Nilkus agreed.

"Anyways, does this Menea bad ass have any movies? Or is it just books?" Raz asked.

"They do have a couple of movies made based on the books. The first one is pretty close to the book and the acting isn't bad. Why, do you want to give it a go?" Nilkus asked.

"Yeah!" Raz answered confidently, "I wanna see her in action."

Nilkus chuckled at her excitement, "Sounds good. I'll put it on."

Pulling up his omni-tool, Nilkus turned on the TV. Selecting one of his media subscriptions, Nilkus began typing the title of the movie into the search bar and it quickly popped up in the results. With a few more clicks, the movie began.

The beginning sequence was flashy, with a lot of pompous music, and swift fighting scenes. Menea valiantly took down her enemies while the passersby cheered her on.

Sitting up stiff, Nilkus gently leaned against the back of the couch, as bright colors flashed on the screen.

Raz hunched slightly forward, sitting more towards the middle of the couch. After a bit, she leaned back as well, gently pressing her back into the cushions. Her shoulder slowly pressed against Nilkus', the warm of her arm causing his mandibles to flutter.

 _Calm down Nilkus, just let her be comfy._ Nilkus thought to himself, and did his best to follow the movie.

However, the warmth from Raz's arm seemed to get a little closer, and remained pressed up against him. It felt nice, comforting almost. Nilkus could feel his eyelids grow heavy. Until now, he didn't realize how tired he felt.

 _Focus…_ He thought to himself, fighting the weight of his eyelids. But the warmth of Raz continued to pull at his eyelids.

Eventually he lost track of the movie all together and began to doze off. Unaware, his head titled to the side and gently landed on Raz's shoulder.

The touch shocked her, and she quickly darted her head to the side to see what he was doing. Eyelids gently closed, Nilkus purred as his chest slowly rose and fell with his breaths. He looked peaceful.

Red painted vibrantly across her cheeks. The gentle snores vibrated through her shoulder. A slight smirk appeared on her face and she gently rested her cheek against the top of his head.

And with that, Raz watched the rest of the movie, with her face, warm, red and smiling.


	4. Meeting Etiquette

CHAPTER 4 - Meeting Etiquette

Another month had passed, filled with movie nights at Nilkus', coffee cups and raucous laughter. Slowly stretching, Nilkus swung his legs over the side of the bed and made his way to the shower. As he let the water run down his face, Nilkus' omni-tool pinged from the other room.

Grabbing a towel, he gently rubbed the water off his face and wrapped the towel around his waist. Picking up the omni-tool from his night stand, he placed it on his wrist and pulled up the interface.

 _Got you the new pumpkin latte before they ran out again. Get your ass over here before it gets cold - Raz._ The message read.

"Kind and elegant as always." Nilkus laughed aloud.

Quickly tugging on his suit, Nilkus hurried out the door.

Looking out the window of the rapid transit car, Nilkus happilly fluttered his mandibles. The reflection of the car flickered as they sped past hundreds of windows of citadel apartments. Swaying with the flow of traffic, Nilkus watched the other drivers veer off down different paths, as his car headed towards the presidium.

Slowly landing on the platform, the car came to a halt and popped open its doors. Stepping out, Nilkus gazed out into the crowd with a slight smirk on his face. Sauntering over to the walkways, he made his way towards their meeting spot.

As always, there she stood, looking out over the water. This time however, with two cups in hand.

"Is that my hero?" Nilkus laughed, gently tapping her shoulder.

"You know it." Raz smirked handing him the coffee, "Only had to fight off 3 other patrons. Probably didn't get banned... I hope."

"I can never tell if you're joking or not. For my sanity's sake, I'll just assume you are." Nilkus laughed as he took his first sip.

"You better pretend you like it, even if you don't. C-sec's gonna be after me for what I did to get that." Raz said, waving her finger, "I need it to all be worth it, when they come for me."

Flaring out his mandibles, Nilkus widened his eyes. "Wow."

"Wow….. what? Good, bad what?" Raz pestered.

"Good wow. Yeah we don't have anything like this on Palaven. This is interesting for sure, no wonder it kept selling out." Nilkus answered.

"So my misdemeanors were worth it?" Raz asked, "And because of my generosity, you'll use your fancy diplomat magic to get me out scott free?"

"I don't know who this Scott is, but I seriously hope you didn't do anything drastic." Nilkus laughed.

"Oh it's a phrase… which… I don't know why we use." Raz said looking off to the side in thought, "But anyhoo, it means without any consequences."

Nilkus laughed, "Spirits, you are something else."

Placing his hand on the rail, Nilkus peered out over the water. Slowly sipping his drink, he noticed the railing was rather warm and soft.

 _Soft…?_ Nilkus thought to himself.

Turning his gaze to the railing, he realized he placed his hand a top Raz's. Quickly pulling it back, he stuttered, "Spirits, I didn't see your hand there. Terribly sorry!"

Raz darted away her gaze, "Eh its fine, shit happens."

Had he offended her? Why did she avert her gaze? Nilkus twiddled his fingers nervously trying to think of something to say.

Suddenly his omni-tool pinged. It was a message from Vesta.

_Hey, are you nearby? If so, could you head over quickly? They rescheduled a big meeting for today and I need to go over a few things with you._

"Hey, so sorry. It looks like I need to run to the office. Vesta needs me. Apparently we have a big meeting today we need to prepare for." Nilkus explained.

Still avoiding eye contact, Raz barely choked out, "No problem man."

"Well, thanks again for the coffee and talk to you soon!" Nilkus said as he scurried down the Presidium walk way.

Keeping her stare to the ground, Raz made sure to hide her burning cheeks from his view.

Nilkus arrived at the office, slightly out of breathe, "I practically ran here _and_ left Raz early so this better be good."

"It is." Vesta assured, "Today's the meeting with the Human Embassy. Damn bastards just rescheduled it."

"Those assholes think they're so high and mighty now that-" Evander began, angrily grumbling.

"Yes, yes we all know. We don't need to hear it again" Vesta cut off Evander, "We need to make sure we're completely prepared for this. We have _two_ hours."

"They rescheduled it for two hours from now?" Nilkus panicked as he hurried to his desk, "Bastards. Yeah let's get to it."

The trio furiously typed away, preparing notes, collecting data and discussing through their game plan.

* * *

Two hours had nearly passed when Dectis popped his head into their office, "Let's go. A good turian is never late."

The trio nodded as they collected their things and followed Dectis to the human embassy.

Evander gently nudged Nilkus, "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" Nilkus chuckled.

"We finally get to meet her." Evader smirked deviously.

"No you don't." Nilkus began cockily, "She only comes in on Mondays- wait they rescheduled… And today is…"

Evander just confidently fluttered his mandibles.

"I hate you. If you do _anything_ stupid I _will_ kill you." Nilkus threatened.

Rising his shoulders cockily, Evander retorted, "Worth it."

Waving his hand in protest, Nilkus was cut off by Dectis, "Shut up you two. We're here. Please try to pretend you're at least _vaguely_ competent."

The pair nodded and they all headed into the human embassy.

They were greeted by a tall lanky man with a large bushy beard. Twiddling his thumbs nervously, he bowed to the group.

"W-welcome. My name is Bolton" he stuttered, "Thank you for coming today. The um, the room for meeting is this way."

As Bolton turned to lead them down the hall, a red headed man placed his hand on Bolton's shoulder.

"It's alright newby, they don't bite. Usually." Turning to the group, the red headed man stretched out his hand, "Good to meet you, the name's Gideon."

Dectis took the man's hand, "Dectis. Before you interrupted your compatriot we were supposed to go to the meeting room. Turians _don't_ like to be late, so please, take us there."

Gideon nodded and quickly complied, "Of course, this way."

Vetra tried to hold back a giggle and gave Evander and Nilkus a look.

 _Typical Dectis…_ They all thought. The trio often wondered how with his abrasive personality, Dectis survived Citadel politics. The other races typically didn't present such harsh tones right away. Then again, Dectis wasn't one for fake appearances, which made him popular back on Palaven and among the rest of the turians.

The group finally reached the meeting room and stood around a long shiny table in the center of the room.

"Would anyone be interested in a beverage?" Bolton asked, "We offer water, dextro-safe coffees and some Palaven fruit juices."

"Coffee, and make it black as you humans say." Dectis barked.

"May I have water?" Vesta sweetly requested.

Nilkus and Evander echoed Vesta's request and tone.

Nodding, Bolton scurried away.

Strutting confidently into the room, a human perked his head up and walked towards the head of the table. Elegantly uncrossing his arms, the man gently placed his hands on the smooth shiny table top.

"Welcome to our embassy. To those I haven't formally met, I am Ambassador Udina. It is good to see you all." Udina stated confidently.

Dectis and the others politely bowed their heads in thanks.

"We appreciate you taking the time to meet, although the abrupt rescheduling was a bit uncalled for." Dectis stated, biting back his irritation.

"As you are well aware _Dectis_ , we humans have become quite busy as of late." Udina snarled back. "After 18 years of being members of the Citadel embassies, our hard work is finally paying off and we are getting the recognition we deserve. I apologize if that's _intimidating_ at all."

"Turians aren't _intimidated_. We are just cautious." Dectis growled, " _Don't_ conflate the two. Unlike humans, we analyze our surroundings. We don't just head into situations so brashly."

Udina straightened his back, "I have to disagree. We are simply proactive and ambitious. We too, like Turians, aren't intimidated. We fight to better ourselves and our species at every turn. But I'm sure you aren't here to prattle on about our cultural differences."

"Yes, you are correct about that." Dectis nodded, "Nilkus, can you pull up the presentation?"

Nilkus nodded and began to tap away at his data-pad. As the presentation was being loaded, Bolton had returned with their drinks. He gently placed them on the table. Dectis mostly ignored him, while Vesta and Evander did their best to show gratitude. Although Bolton wasn't quite sure what it meant, he assumed softly curling up their mandibles was their way of showing their gratitude.

Lastly, Bolton placed a drink at the end of the table where Nilkus had walked over to. The presentation had just appeared on the screen when Nilkus looked to Bolton and said thank you.

Turning to address the table, Nilkus began, "Thank you Ambassador Udina. We appreciate you and your staff taking the time to discuss a second collaboration project. We believe our first endeavor together not only created a successful bi-product, but also helped our species better understand one another. This presentation will discuss our goals for the next project and what we hope to accomplish."

Udina nodded as Nilkus proceeded to the next slide. Smoothly presenting the materials, Nilkus worked his way through several slides. Softly nodding, Udina appeared to be listening, well at least as far as Nilkus could tell.

When attempting to move to the next graphic, the screen fizzled out.

Udina groaned aloud and commented, "You think with our damn budget, we could have vaguely functioning equipment."

Turning to Bolton, Udina barked, "Get the tech, she should be here today."

Bolton nodded and scurried down the hall.

"Don't worry, she's a hell of a tech. She'll get the projector fixed quick." Gideon smirked.

Udina rolled his eyes, "Please behave yourself Gideon. Your antics can be obnoxious."

"What, I'm just giving her the credit she deserves." Gideon smiled.

Evander turned to Nilkus and teasingly fluttered his mandibles. Turning away quickly, Nilkus did his best to ignore Evander.

 _Will she acknowledge me? Will she be mad I didn't mention I would be in her office?_ Suddenly, Nilkus didn't feel so well. Nervous, stomach knotted, the wait was killing him. Now he just wanted this presentation to be over. Thankfully however, she would only be here briefly to fix the projector, but he was still already thrown off by the thought of seeing her.

Bolton stepped into the room, and shortly behind him, there she was. A calm expression across her face, curls bouncing slightly as she stepped in.

"Tech, fix the damn projector. This is an important meeting and we need it back online quickly." Udina barked

"Yes sir." She smiled, turning towards the projector.

Panicking, Nilkus stood there breathless. _What should I do? Do I say hello? Would that be awkward? Do I pretend to not know her? Would she be mad if I ignored her? Do I pretend I don't notice her? No that's stupid, Udina literally announced her presence… Fuck I-_

Time was up, she turned and faced him. Those deep blue eyes fell upon him, widened in slight surprise at first, and then to a calm gaze. Her lip slightly curled up as their stares met. Without even realizing it, Nilkus fluttered his mandibles in embarrassment.

Raz approached the screen and began furiously typing away on her datapad. After a minute, the presentation reappeared.

"You should be all set now." Raz said as she walked back to Udina.

"Good to know, but stay here for the rest of the presentation to be safe." Udina ordered, "I _don't_ want to have to go finding you if it happens again."

"Yes sir." Raz nodded as she went and stood at the table.

Nilkus swallowed hard. _What? Fuck. Are you fucking serious?_

Evander and Vesta saw Nilkus' mandibles tighten against his face nervously and stifled their laughter. With an odd look, Dectis analyzed the sudden change from Nilkus and then looked back to Raz.

"Feel free to continue." Udina commented, "I am eager to hear the rest."

Nilkus fluttered out his mandibles and breathed in slowly, "S-sure."

Turning to the presentation and clutching his hand tightly, he began again. Trudging sloppily through his points, Nilkus could barely keep his composure. Occasionally, he would stumble through his words, mixing up phrases or getting ahead of himself. Refusing to look at Raz, he would often stare at Vesta or Evander for support. They would try their best to smile at him or breathe slowly to remind him to calm down.

Nilkus had never felt like this before. Why did it matter if she was there? Nilkus had given presentations to hundreds of people before, even groups of high profile diplomats or mixed species audiences. Why was this different?

And then, once when switching his stare from Vesta to Evander, he caught Raz's gaze.

That cool and calm stare. Beautiful like the ocean reflecting a perfectly clear sky. Vast and mysterious, so adventurous and so much to explore.

 _Fuck._ He thought as he switched to the next slide. _They were right. I_ _ **do**_ _like her._

Taking another deep breathe, he looked up and noticed it was his last slide.

"And with that I will hand the presentation over to Evander to discuss the estimated statistics for our goals. Thank you for your time." Nilkus stated as he hurried away from the front of the table.

 _Thank the Spirits I am done. I don't know how much more of that I could have handled._ Nilkus sighed slightly.

Looking up to Vesta from across the table, she sympathetically flared out her mandibles.

Turning slightly, he could see Dectis was glaring at him so hard, he thought his head would explode.

Nervously curling up his mandibles, Nilkus looked back and then immediately darted his stare away.

 _Well... None of that matters, Dectis is going to fucking kill me._ Nilkus thought defeatedly.

Evander continued with the statistics and Vesta eventually took over to discuss the current schematics from their scientists.

After Vesta finished, she returned to the table to begin the open discussion.

"Alright, thank you for the presentation." Udina stated flatly, "Bolton grab a console and begin taking notes for the discussion. Tech, you're dismissed."

Raz nodded as she headed out of the room, and Bolton pulled up a notepad on his console and began typing.

The group discussed the presentation and eventually returned back to the Turian Embassy. As soon as the door shut behind them, Dectis began yelling.

"What was _that_ disaster?" Dectis yelled, slamming his hands on Vesta's desk.

"Sir, I'm sorry what do you mean?" Vesta asked, a little shaken.

"No, not you Vesta, I apologize for the confusion." Dectis said a little calmer and retracted his hands from her desk, "I mean Nilkus."

Nilkus clenched his hands tightly and tucked in his mandibles in ashamedly.

"I am so sorry sir it's just-" Nilkus began to explain.

"No!" Dectis yelled back, "A technical error is no means for that kind of commotion. You learned to be better than that. Spirits! You're a damn turian, start acting like one. Not some sweet little fragile salarian who gets scared by the sound of an engine turning on. Get your act together Nilkus or I swear I will fire you. Understood?"

Nilkus bowed his head, "Y-yes sir."

"Good, now get to work. We have a lot to take care of with that proposal up for review." Dectis said as he walked out of the room.

Once Dectis walked away, Evander and Vesta just stood there, attempting to stifle their laughter.

"Shut it you two." Nilkus snarled

"I'm sorry I've just _never_ seen you like that before. Like, Spirits, that was like a ship wreck, but damn it was adorable." Evander chuckled

Nilkus groaned harshly and slumped in his chair.

"You must _really_ like her, huh?" Vesta said soothingly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I- I don't want to talk about it." Nilkus said, attempting to avoid the question, "Making a fool of myself, risking the project, getting chewed out by Dectis, the last thing I want to do is deal with my emotions. I just want to bury myself in work and forget this ever happened."

"Spirits… You really didn't realize? Not until today?" Evander asked, "We always thought you just didn't like talking about your romantic feelings, not that you were _this_ oblivious."

Nilkus didn't respond, but his crestfallen expression was all the confirmation they needed.

"Well, we'll stop pestering you. But if you want to talk, we're here okay?" Vesta said gently, removing her hand from his shoulder and returning to her desk.

After a brief moment of silence, Nilkus finally looked up and quietly chirped out, "Thanks."

The rest of the work day dragged on at an abysmal pace.

* * *

Flopping down on his couch, Nilkys sighed and tried to bat away the memories from earlier today. Opening his omni-tool, he flicked on the TV and put on the news.

The reporters droned on about council activity and a lot of the achievements made by humanity. They debated on whether or not this would bode well for other species for a while and then moved to a segment about updates in Palaven legislation.

Turning onto his back, Nilkus just stared up at the ceiling and sighed, ignoring the chatter from the TV.

"Fuck…" he thought to himself. "What am I going to do?"

Suddenly, he got a ping on his omni-tool,

_APARTMENT NOTIFICATION: Visitor arrived on doorstep, please see image linked._

Nilkus quickly sat up and pulled up the linked image, "Who on the Citadel-"

And there she was, smiling slightly, waving her hand. That ocean blue stare, looking into the camera.

"She's here?!" Nilkus said, jumping out of his seat. "Wait why? Spirits I'm a mess, this place is a mess."

Looking at the door, he shook his head and took a deep breath.

 _Maybe I left something in her embassy and she's just returning it. Calm down Nilkus, act natural._ Nilkus thought to himself as he straightened out his clothes.

Walking up slowly, Nilkus opened the door with his omni-tool.

 _Natural._ He reassured himself.

"Hey funny seeing you with your youness, um here where I do live and stuff." Nilkus choked out, completely butchering his banter.

" _Wow_. You're worse than I thought. I'm going to pretend that was you attempting to make fun of me. And ouch so hurt. Anyhoo can I come in? I have a surprise." Raz said

"Uh yeah sure, wait worse than you thought? And a surprise?" Nilkus asked

"Well something seemed off during your presentation. I thought maybe you weren't feeling well." Raz explained.

The pair made their way to the couch, and Raz placed her bag on the coffee table and began pulling out containers.

"So because of that, I brought you some fancy stew that Turians apparently like and in case you were just stressed, I brought you some turian whiskey." Raz explained

Nilkus was shocked, "You did?"

Smiling softly, Raz looked him in the eyes, "Of course. We're friends and we look out for each other. It's the least I can do."

Nilkus fluttered his mandibles, and gave her a thankful gaze.

"Thankfully I'm not sick, but I am still super excited for the stew. I haven't had stew in forever." Nilkus laughed

"Ooo so that means we get to have some whiskey?" Raz said, pulling two little bottles out of the bag.

"I guess so. I haven't drank in a while either so this should be interesting." Nilkus chuckled, "Let me grab the good glasses."

Standing up, Nilkus headed to the kitchen and grabbed two whiskey glasses from his cabinet.

"Of course you have actual whiskey glasses, Mr. Fancy Diplomat. Listen, I was ready to drink this shit straight out of the bottle." Raz teased gently punching his shoulder.

"What is the phrase… I am rolling my eyes at you in response to your antics." Nilkus stated.

"You're supposed to actually roll your eyes, not just say it." Raz giggled.

Nilkus looked left and then the right, "Like that?"

"Close, but you need to do like a semicircle with your view." Raz said, leaning close to him and demonstrating.

Nilkus tried again, very slowly rolling his eyes.

Raz laughed, "Yeah close enough. Consider me offended."

Nilkus chuckled again as he poured them each a glass.

"So you drink out of these like shot glasses right?" Raz teased.

"I know humans have whiskey glasses Raz." Nilkus laughed, nudging her back.

"Oh you're no fun." Raz smiled sticking out her tongue.

"Besides I have work in the morning unless you want to go in for me." Nilkus chuckled.

"I can if you want. Can't guarantee I won't get the turians unintentionally removed from the citadel somehow." Raz stated.

"Depending on how drunk we get, that may be worth it." Nilkus laughed.

The pair continued to chat and joke around for a couple of hours. Eventually they had thrown on a human sitcom and were laughing at human customs. While Nilkus was watching the TV, he felt Raz place her head against his shoulder.

"Damn you're really warm. Is that from the alcohol? Or are you normally this hot." Raz asked.

"I mean enough turian women and asari have told me I am and they were sober, so I think I'm just cursed with beauty." Nilkus laughed

"Oh shut up you know that's not what I meant." Raz laughed. Her cheeks beet red.

"Listen it's not my fault I exuberate such good looks." Nilkus joking gloated as he stretched his arm around her shoulders, "I apologize if it's distracting from the show at all."

"Eccsueberate? How can you use such fancy words when you're drunk." Raz asked, "You damn fancy diplomat man."

Nilkus burst into laughter, "Exuberate, to have an abundance or an overflow of something."

"So what do _I_ exuberate then?" Raz laughed.

"Humor for sure, definitely good wit and charisma as well." Nilkus fluttered his mandibles kindly.

Raz chuckled and buried her face in his neck, "Oh shush that nice face of yours. You're just pulling my arm."

"Oh am I? I'm sorry did I hurt your arm?" Nilkus said shocked, pulling his arm quickly off of her.

"No no sorry its dumb human speech. It means messing with someone. Like you complimenting just cause. Now give me your arm back, you're warm." Raz said grabbing his arm and throwing it back over her shoulders.

"Nah, I'm too drunk to pull that kind of stunt now." Nilkus laughed pulling her a little closer.

"I don't know. A fancy diplomat man like you can probably do drunken diplomatic charisma stuff all the time. You're probably good at it too." Raz said, leaning back against his arm, turning her gaze to his.

Nilkus breathed slowly. They were really close. His mandibles fluttered in embarrassment and nervousness.

"Nah I'm not that good. Besides I would feel bad lying to you. You're too cool to do that too." Nilkus chuckled softly.

"There you go again. With your _damn_ charisma." Raz laughed.

"I mean it. You're seriously amazing Raz." Nilkus said calm and smoothly.

Raz just stared at him and seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Nilkus could see her cheeks were red as fire.

"I -um…" Raz said slightly diverting her stare. "Thank you… and… can I ask you something crazy?"

"Yeah sure. Anything." Nilkus said gently placing a hand on her shoulder and planting his had on the couch, right beside her.

"It's weird, but I um…" Raz lost her words for a moment.

"I won't judge. I promise." Nilkus said as sweetly as he could.

"Can you say that again, but can you call me Elle?" Raz asked.

Nilkus gave her a perplexed looked, removing his hand from her shoulder.

 _Elle…?_ He thought to himself.

"I- wait-" Nilkus began confused, trying to process what she had said.

"Sorry as I said it's weird and I-" Raz started getting flustered and turned away from him.

"Elle." He called out soothingly, gently placing his hand a top hers.

The name cut through the silence. Raz froze for a second and turned back Nilkus. Eyes starting to water, her shoulders relaxed.

Nilkus softly placed his hand back on her shoulder, "You're amazing Elle. I mean it."

Tears began pouring down Raz's cheeks and she pulled him in tightly for a hug.

"T-thank you." she choked through the sobs. "You're the only thing that's normal in my life. You'll never understand how much I appreciate you. Seriously... Thank you Nilkus."

Pulling her closer, Nilkus wrapped his arms around her back as she cried into his shoulder. Gently stroking her hair, he just sat there with her, saying nothing.

Eventually, the tears stopped and they just sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, eventually losing themselves to slumber.

* * *

(Fanfic title inspired by the song Cup of Coffee by Julian Moon and some names from the fantasynamesgenerator)

Special thanks to my friend and fellow mass effect fan who reviews my work and gives me feedback! I love and appreciate you!


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